Preview: Real Salt Lake at New York Red Bulls

HOBOKEN, New Jersey (Tuesday, June 23, 2015) – Real Salt Lake seeks back-to-back wins for the second time this season as the club heads East in Major League Soccer action for a critical midweek tilt, facing the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Television coverage for the game – RSL’s 17th out of 34 regular-season matches this year – kicks off at 5:00 p.m. MT on KMYU, with the game also carried on ESPN700 (4:30 p.m. MT pre-game) and La Gran D 102.3 FM / 1600 AM. Former RSL DF and current analyst Brian Dunseth – the author of the first home goal in club history, April 16, 2005 against Colorado – will call the match, alongside play-by-play man David James.

Real Salt Lake (5-5-6, 21 points, West 8) entered the week as one of 10 teams within 10 points of the Supporters Shield lead, and visits New Jersey as the author of the lone regular-season road win for a visiting team (now 1-7-11) in the all-time series history with Red Bull New York. RSL won here back in September, 2011, winning 3-1 at Red Bull Arena. The last RSL visit in July, 2013, saw an Alvaro Saborio hat trick overcome an 0-2 deficit and a pair of Fabian Espindola penalty kicks, before a diving Dax McCarty header at the death gave the Red Bulls a 4-3 win. In the clubs’ meeting at Rio Tinto Stadium a year ago, RSL took the early lead on a Joao Plata goal, but brilliance from Thierry Henry knotted the game at 1-1 midway through the second half for the final scoreline.

All-time, RSL and Red Bulls have a 5-5-8 mark in the series, with RSL 1-4-3 in New Jersey and 4-1-5 at home. New York Red Bulls did win the lone postseason match between the clubs, with a 1-0 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium in the 2008 Western Conference Final.

Following Sunday’s 2-1 home victory over Sporting Kansas City, RSL improved to 4-1-4 across all competitions at home this season, as Rio Tinto Stadium prepares to host as many as six of the club’s next seven matches after Wednesday’s trip to New York. Should RSL win the Wednesday, July 1 Round of 16 match against Portland Timbers in the club’s next Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contest, it would host the July 21 Quarterfinal match against the LA Galaxy / San Jose Earthquakes winner.

Three weeks ago, RSL discovered its 2015/16 Champions League Group, as the club will face Santa Tecla FC (El Salvador) and Municipal (Guatemala) with two home games and two away scheduled during six possible matchdates in August/September/October. RSL and the remaining 23 clubs will ascertain dates and times in the coming weeks.

RSL’s 2-0 victory over NYCFC back on May 23 kicked off a run that sees RSL play as many as 14 games in 60 days from Memorial Day to Pioneer Day (11 MLS reg. season matches plus three possible U.S. Open Cup contests).

As a result of the schedule congestion described above, RSL boss Jeff Cassar has distributed minutes all over the roster in anticipation of quick turnarounds and key absences due to international duty, suspension, injury and fatigue, as 22 different players have earned starts for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2015’s first 14 games, while 25 players – all but GK Lalo Fernandez, DF Phanuel Kavita and DF Boyd Okwuonu – have logged MLS minutes in 2015. Kavita and Okwuonu did make their RSL debuts in last Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over S2 in the Open Cup.

When FW Sebastian Jaime scored his first career goal in Sunday’s 2-1 home win over Kansas City, he became the 59th player of the 124 that have worn the RSL crest in MLS play to find the back of the net. Fellow FW Olmes Garcia notched the game-winner in the 93rd minute, RSL’s 27th all-time game-winning goal across 393 games in all competitions, and the third-year Colombian’s first goal since last August. That strike also represented RSL’s 450th MLS regular-season goal in 336 games over 11 seasons.

Assisting on both goals Sunday – after assisting on the equalizer and scoring the game-winner himself in Tuesdays 2-1 win over S2 – was RSL MF Javier Morales, the Argentine maestro. In MLS play, Morales now owns 40 goals and a club-leading 70 assists, giving the man who missed all of 2005/06 and most of 2007 and 2011 a foot in nearly 25% of every Claret-and-Cobalt MLS goal all-time. The 35-year old is showing no signs of slowing down, as his game-winning assist Sunday tied him with Kyle Beckerman for the all-time club lead (17 each).

Other Notes:

18-year old DF Justen Glad – who made his MLS debut May 30 in Vancouver – became the 124th player to appear on club’s behalf, and started his first-ever league match at centerback on Sunday.

RSL icons Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando were named Tuesday to USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann’s 2015 Gold Cup squad, both departing on Sunday after the RSL v. Columbus match for international duty.

Another trio of RSL players – FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica), DF Demar Phillips (Jamaica) and DF Elias Vasquez (Guatemala) – have also been called internationally for the Summer CONCACAF tourney. Saborio and Vasquez are already in their home countries preparing for the July tournament, while Phillips will depart on Sunday as well.